Unexpected Places
by BoxingTheStars
Summary: James has been paired up with an unpredictable Slytherin girl for a new Unity Project. Neither student is happy, but they find they must work together to uncover a dark plot and the true reason students need to be united. More detailed summary inside.
1. Orientation

**Summary: **James enters his sixth year at Hogwarts with no expectations of anything out of the ordinary, but is soon thrown into a newly implemented "Unity Project", a scheme the teachers hurriedly created to promote unity and friendship among the Houses. Along with his cousin Roxanne, he is paired with an irritable, moody and unpredictable Slytherin girl named Esme Taylor. The two are instantly at each other's throats and continue to disagree and feud, but James' curiosity gets the better of him, and they are soon thrown into a mystery of a dark plot, Esme's family and the real reason the teachers want their students to be united strongly once more.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Harry Potter universe or any of the canons mentioned in this story. Personalities have been fabricated by myself, but the rest belongs to J.K. Rowling and her brilliant mind. Esme, Rorie, Anthony, the twins, the Headmistress, the Unity Project and other original ideas can be considered joint property of myself and Lila, a dear friend, role play buddy and fellow writer/HP enthusiast - though to be honest, she has most of the brilliant ideas.

**Author's Note: **This is a collaboration piece of sorts, and credit should be given to my lovely partner Lila for the Unity Project idea, as well as the ever fabulous Taylor sisters and ever nasty Lauwry twins. The overall plot was spun, in almost equal measure, by the both of us, though you'll find her influence pretty much everywhere. I speak for us both when I say I hope you enjoy the story, because we're having a blast writing it!

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><p>"I hear we're getting some Slytherins in our House this year," James Potter said by way of greeting, the ever present smile still lingering mischievously on his lips as he approached the Gryffindor table. This caused several reactions from his group of friends and family, the mildest being some widened eyes, the most amusing being his cousin Roxanne spitting her pumpkin juice all over the table.<p>

"Excuse me?" she asked in disbelief, her dark eyes widening into the more normal expression of the others.

James, who was far too amused by her reaction to elaborate at the moment, simply put a finger to his lips, still smirking at her.

"It's a secret," he said ambiguously, though he had a feeling it wouldn't stay that way for long. Already, people were opening their letters all around the Great Hall, some looking puzzled, others looking furious. Very few people actually looked excited.

Roxanne and the others seemed not to notice this; the former was busy with her wand, siphoning the spilled pumpkin juice from the House table and the rest were glaring at him.

Through a clever combination of snooping, eavesdropping, and sheer luck, James and his best friend Anthony often came by interesting – or infuriating – little tidbits of information such as this. Much of the time Roxanne and Fred, who were doubtless their father's children, were in on the joke too, but on this particular occasion they had not been enlightened. This was mostly because James did not know nearly as much about the arrangements as he pretended to, and didn't want to reveal his ignorance to the rest of the group. Best to simply wait until things were clear to everyone and act as if he'd known the whole time. He and Anthony would save much more dignity that way, as they both knew.

It could not have been plainer that Roxanne was not happy to be left out of the loop. Although her physical appearance differed from the rest of her cousins, she had the trademark 'Weasley glare' down, and was unleashing its full power on the two boys. Anthony, James noticed, had already looked away and was waving energetically to his girlfriend Kristen at the Ravenclaw table. James, who could scarcely keep a girlfriend for more than two weeks, didn't have anyone to look at and simply observed the ceiling, which this evening was a darkening blue and dotted with white, puffy clouds.

It was the first Saturday after the first week of the new school year, and there had been no inkling that anything out of the ordinary would be going on this year, not even a tiny little hint or mysterious comment at the welcome feast. Therefore, James and Anthony had been quite shocked when they heard tell of an upcoming project that select students in their fifth year or above would be participating in.

This project, which had, oddly, been discussed in anxious whispers, had been created for the sole purpose of promoting "unity" among the four Houses and was, quite appropriately, if predictably, titled the "Unity Project". Startled at the implications that seemed to come with this project, he and Anthony had looked everywhere for more information, but had been unable to find any. This thing was, apparently, quite secret – and quite hastily pulled together.

The people who had received letters had now hurried out of the Hall, and James watched them curiously. Roxanne, having decided rightly that the best way to get back at her cousin was to ignore him,was now fighting with Fred over a letter from their parents that had been received at breakfast that day, addressed to both of them. He was quite a bit taller than her and was currently holding it above his head, laughing as she grew more irritated. As James watched, Roxanne remembered that she could charm the parchment away from Fred, and, after swishing her wand through the air, snatched it triumphantly, stuck her tongue out at her older brother, and began to read. In fact, the rest of the group seemed to have moved on as well. Either they all knew that he hated being ignored, or the news simply wasn't as big as he'd initially thought.

James began to push his dinner around on his plate absently, thinking about Slytherins and the prospect of some of them joining Gryffindor. He knew that disputes between the Houses had been much more numerous in his father's day, and that the House had supposedly been much worse back then, but he still wasn't inclined to be too friendly to the Slytherins. The old prejudices had leaked through to his generation, and though they were a bit diluted, James had never been able to forget the House's bad reputation. The only Slytherin he attempted to get along with, in fact, was his beloved sister Lily.

If it had been anyone else in the family – even Albus, who had been so worried about his Sorting – that had been put into Slytherin, he doubted that he would have taken it as well. But as Lily was, and forever would be, his baby sister, he decided to grin and bear it until later realizing that being a serpent hadn't really changed her at all. Still, she was an exception to the rule.

"James?" Anthony asked. He had already finished his and, without food to distract him, had apparently noticed the silence, "You all right, mate?"

"Yeah," James said hastily, coming out of his reverie with a jolt, "You know, I think I'm going to get started on some of that homework."

Some of the others stopped talking to observe this conversation, their faces surprised; it seemed to be somewhat of a shock to them that James would actually take the initiative to do his homework himself rather than leaving it for last minute and trying to copy someone. James smoothed over their surprise in the usual way, smirking as he said, "Well, I might as well get a head start for next year."

This comment was accompanied by a meaningful nod at Fred, a seventh year, who had abandoned his attempt to keep the letter from his sister and was now poring over a textbook intently. Then James gave a small wave, gathered up his things, and headed to the Gryffindor common room.

Outside, he found a small cluster of people waiting outside the portrait of the Fat Lady. Some were trying to explain the situation, some were chatting amongst themselves, and some were simply gawking. James pushed past them, rolling his eyes. These must be the "delegates" they had sent to "improve House relations" and all that rubbish. No Gryffindor would look so utterly lost outside of their own common room.

From the front of the crowd a girl's snippy voice shouted, "_Oh _for Merlin's sake, people, no need for small talk – who has the password?"

"Dodecahedron," he said confidently, coming up behind her and risking a glance. She was a sixth year, like him, and in Slytherin – they'd had classes together in the past, but he'd never paid her much mind before. The only reason he remembered her name was because it was so utterly ridiculous – Esmeralda Taylor, often flanked by her fellow Slytherin sister, Aurora; though he'd heard them both correct teachers enough to know they preferred Esme and Rorie, respectively. Those were the best nicknames they could derive from their birth names, he supposed.

Esme snorted at the mouthful of a password and covered her mouth with one hand to hide a grin. James gazed down at her, smirking.

"Don't like our password, _Esmeralda?_" he asked, putting emphasis on her full name as if to point out that she had no room to talk about ridiculous words.

Disappointingly enough, she ignored him and climbed through the portrait hole after a fifth year Ravenclaw boy. James followed her but said nothing more, instead walking over to his favorite arm chair and falling into it, his back on one arm and his legs slung over the other.

After another few minutes of boring chatter, the Headmistress, Professor Barnes, appeared through the portrait hole. She shushed everyone and motioned for them to gather round, apparently not noticing James sitting in the armchair, watching the proceedings.

"Now, the whole lot of you, gather 'round. Good," she began, looking around at the small group imperiously before continuing, "You all will receive two House buddies, one of each gender, to help you adjust to – Potter? What are you doing here? The students don't usually return from the Great hall for another half hour, at least."

In one of her periodic sweeps of the room, her eyes had finally settled on James, who was grinning from ear to ear now.

"You're quite right, Professor, I just came up a bit early to get a head start on some homework," he answered, with an expression of feigned innocence on his face that suggested no innocence at all, "But this is much more interesting," he added, his gaze flickering over to where Esme stood, looking highly critical of her new surroundings. _Probably used to a dungeon somewhere, _he thought.

"Very well then," replied Barnes, looking unconvinced, "You'll just be hearing the arrangement twice, Potter. I trust that's not a problem?"

"Not a problem at all, Professor," James replied smoothly, supremely unconcerned that he was interrupting a matter of some importance and was, as a result, getting some odd looks from the "ambassadors".

Professor Barnes picked up where she'd left off, explaining that each of the "Exchange Ambassadors" would be getting a "House Ambassador" to ensure they were welcome and adjusted to their new House. Then she began reading off a list, in alphabetical order, of the Exchange Ambassadors and their partners.

"Taylor, Esmeralda Ann with Potter, James Sirius and Weasley, Roxanne Maureen."

James' eyebrows shot up into his dark, shaggy hair as his name was called. Before he could process this new information, the Headmistress was finished reading the list, and Esme was staring at him in disbelief, possibly without even realizing she was doing it. He couldn't help but laugh – loudly – at the expression on her face.

"Hey, Taylor, we're buddies now!" he exclaimed, looking delighted at this news. Esme did not return his grin, but appeared to be grinding her teeth together. Presumably she was biting back some acidic remark that she was tempted to throw at him.

"Erm, Professor," piped up a fifth year girl in the back of the group, "if Taylor doesn't want her House buddy, can I...?" But she was consumed by giggles before she could finish her sentence.

"There's nothing wrong with yours, McArthur," Professor Barnes said firmly, "You will all introduce yourselves to your House buddies when they arrive. In the meantime – " she gave an expert flick of her wand, and their trunks went zooming up to their respective dormitories, " – I would advise you to get settled in. Taylor, as one of your partners is already here, it would be wise to stop grinding your teeth and get off to a good start with him. Potter, I expect only the best behavior from you. This project – and its participants – is being closely monitored, so don't try anything... _funny._"

And with a swish of her cloak, she disappeared out of the portrait hole.

"Listen, Potter," Esme began, standing over him and looking quite as unfriendly as ever, "You and I were never 'buddies' and I rather preferred it that way. I can figure things out for myself, thanks, so why don't you just – " she cut off and swallowed whatever she was going to say next. Probably something like, "Why don't you just go shove your head in a dragon's mouth."

"Why on _Earth _would I want to get out of this, Esmeralda?" he quipped, still smiling up at her. She was holding herself back from picking a fight, but he had no qualms about having a little fun with her. Barnes' comment about them being 'closely monitored' did not phase him; he had gotten in trouble for bigger things than poking fun at an irritable Slytherin girl.

There was apparently no fun to be had, however, as Esme resolutely ignored his last comment, turned on her heel, and began to walk away. As she did so she gave a casual little flick of her wand, Summoning her books behind her. James, who was not used to being ignored (and he didn't like it, either), sat up abruptly in his chair as her possessions zoomed past his face.

She caught them without answering, but he was out of the chair and next to her in a second.

"Thinking about running away, Taylor?" he mocked, blurting out the first phrase that came into his head. This, however, was apparently the wrong thing to say, because a shadow of genuine _something _– hurt, or perhaps a bit of anger – passed across her features before being replaced with the usual scowl once more. It took a moment for things to fall into place.

The Taylor sisters were orphans, raised by Muggles, and entirely unaware of who their real parents were. Esme, with cascading, wild dark hair and grey-green eyes, differed greatly in appearance from her sister Rorie, who was blonde and fair. He remembered noting this difference while helping Lily in the library one day, as they were both in the same year and did not look enough alike to be twins. His sister had quietly explained their heritage to him, adding sympathetically, "Some of the other kids – you know, the ones who are all snobbish about blood – give them a hard time about not knowing their status, especially Esme. She's not as... popular as her sister," she said delicately, pursing her lips as she looked over at the two girls, who did not know they were being talked about, "I feel bad, but no one listens to me when I tell them to stop. I'm just..." and she gestured to herself. Lily was tiny and had been in second year at the time, and although she was fierce when she wanted to be, he knew she wouldn't be very intimidating to the older Slytherins.

He had promised not to tell anyone and, in fact, had not thought about this in depth information on the Taylor sisters since them. Of course, the fact that they were orphans would occur to him when they were side by side, one dark and grim looking, the other fair and friendly, but other than that he hadn't given it a second thought. Now, the knowledge hit him like a sack of bricks.

"Oh... sorry," he said reluctantly, not very used to being in the wrong. He figured that she would understand what he was apologizing for, but he probably ought to be saying sorry for taunting her, anyway. Not that he would ever apologize for such a small thing, or admit it, for that matter. The only reason he attempted an apology now was because he knew that even if he hadn't meant it in that way, his question had meant something to her. He wanted to annoy her, piss her off a little, not drag her back into her past and the mocking that he knew she had to deal with from her house.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," she snapped, throwing her books back down onto one of the tables, apparently resigned to staying for a little orientation, "I wouldn't expect anything higher from a person like you."

James' mouth popped open in surprise at this blow – that one had stung a bit. All right, so he wasn't the most tactful person. And yes, that had been a really insensitive thing to say to her, but he didn't think he was that bad... Then again, why was he listening to a Slytherin? She was just trying to get under his skin anyway, there was absolutely no reason to have another thought about it. He was perfectly nice, damn it!

Well... he was nice to Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs.

"What I _am _sorry about is having to wait for this... Roxanne character to show up. How about telling your little friend to hurry up, Potter? I have no intentions of waiting all day for her to just dillydally over..." Esme plowed on.

"Don't insult my family," he snapped back, anger flaring, his recent apology forgotten. If she wanted to be rude, then he would return the favor, "Roxanne doesn't even know she's stuck with you as her little partner for this stupid thing. She'll be sorry when she gets up here, and I'll be damned if I'm going to run your little errand for you. Go tell her yourself if you're so impatient, get out of my hair for awhile."

Now there was an idea. How long did it take to get down to the Great Hall and back?

"Fine, have it your way," she shot back haughtily, "I'll just go and hurry her up myself, shall I?"

With another swish of her wand, she sent her books flying back upstairs and marched out of the common room. James stared after her for a few moments, feeling triumphant, before realizing that she probably had no idea where Roxanne could be found. Surely she was smart enough to looking in the Great Hall, though? Sure, there were a lot of places to go in this castle, and Roxanne knew most of them, and it was a nice day outside so she could be anywhere on the grounds, not to mention she didn't know exactly when the program was starting, but... but...

Oh, Merlin, that stupid Esmeralda knew how to make him look like an idiot, didn't she? He could admit he wasn't the most mature, but she was really bringing out the worst in him, and it wasn't doing anything for his already sour mood.

With a groan of frustration, he dashed up to the boy's dormitories and snatched the Marauder's Map, which he had stolen from his father's desk one evening before dinner, out of his trunk. It was old and wrinkled, but it still worked perfectly fine, and he could easily see his partner's dot down in the dungeons with Nadine and Nathan Lauwry, a pair of wretched twins who were, unsurprisingly, also in Slytherin. That was her problem, though; she should have known better than to go back there.

It took him a little longer to find Roxanne's dot in the crowded Great Hall, as she'd moved to the Ravenclaw table with Albus and Rose.

Well, fine. He could deal with his brother the prefect for a moment, as long as he didn't lecture him too much on dumping this responsibility on Roxanne. James wasn't normally a quitter, but he had better things to think about than a whiny Slytherin who couldn't stand him anymore than he could stand her. Like the fact that he was quite possibly a bad person, for instance.

Oh, sod it. He was going to get Roxanne and they could do this together if he felt so guilty about it. Sighing, he folded the map and flew out of the common room, down the stairs (carefully avoiding the trick one), and into the Great Hall.

"We got a Slytherin," he said once he reached the Ravenclaw table, crossing his arms and hoping that she understood what he meant.

She did, and groaned, "You're kidding me!" she replied angrily, "Which one?"

"Esmeralda Taylor," he hissed, "And let me tell you, she's even worse as a Gryffindor than she is as a Slytherin."

"That's because she's not a Gryffindor," Roxanne sneered, "Where is she?"

"The dungeons, but she ran into the twins there," Roxanne would know he'd looked at the Map, "She wanted me to get you, and I thought she was just being a snob, but then I realized she might not even know who you are."

Roxanne sighed, looking resigned to her fate "Come on then," she replied, "You'd better take me to go and meet her."

James nodded, and they headed out for the dungeons together. Well, at least Albus hadn't said anything to him.

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><p>As James was running to fetch Roxanne, Esme was retreating to the Slytherin dungeons, thinking that, at the very least, she would have the familiar surroundings to take comfort in. She had not even bothered to find the Weasley girl – how did Potter expect her to know where his cousin was lurking? – and had instead beat a path down here. But her luck was worse than she thought, because just a few feet from the safe haven of the Slytherin common room, a voice interrupted her thoughts.<p>

"You can't come back here, traitor... not that we want you back anyway."

She stopped in her tracks, a soft groan escaping her lips. The Lauwry twins. This was Nadine speaking; her wind chime-like voice was immediately recognizable in the silence of the corridor, and the weedy giggles she gave were unmistakable. Turning around to face the other girl, she found that her brother Nathan was standing there, as he always was, like a silent body guard.

"The password's changed, Taylor," Nadine continued, speaking every venomous word with undisguised relish, "Plus you're not physically allowed in. Did you honestly think there wouldn't be a barrier to go back? Remember, we use _magic_ here, unlike those Muggles you grew up with. Nuns, you said? _Nones, _more like..."

Esme's lips twitched stiffly upward, falling into a rigid smirk.

"I'm sorry, I didn't remember you twits owning the dungeons," she said in a dangerously polite tone, "Why, I'm surprised you could even think up that insult, Nadine. If you had half the brain you should have got, then, my, maybe you could manage some magic too..."

"That's rich, coming from a girl who's even less than Muggle-born. At least Mudbloods know their status," Nadine replied coldly, "You know, I think this program might be good for you. Help you find a place where you belong, Esmeralda..."

Esme ignored her and took a few more steps towards the entrance to the common room. Five, going on six years of experience with the Lauwrys, who were as dim as they were cruel, had taught her not to trust too much of what they said. However, Nadine pressed on, looking smug and satisfied.

"Oh, it's all been arranged," she murmured in response to Esme's fleeting looks to the stone entrance, "If you try to go back in, it'll deduct points from both Slytherin and Gryffindor House. Nice of me to inform you before you did that, wasn't it?" she sneered, "Well, can't stand amongst the muck for too long so, Nathan – we best be going now..."

Nathan simply nodded before he turned around and followed his sister to Merlin knew where. Esme sighed, glancing at the stone wall once more with obvious longing in her gaze. Maybe if she found Rorie...

She grimaced, the Hufflepuffs were either getting a visit from Barnes or being more thorough than the Gryffindors. It was obvious she wasn't going to see Aurora until tomorrow. Sighing again, she wondered where she could wander aimlessly to now. She could head off the library and finish the week's work. Perhaps if she worked nonstop she could leave a year early...

"Wonder if I'd have made a better Ravenclaw," Esme muttered to herself.

_No... _no, _you're a Slytherin. The Hat didn't make any mistakes. That's the House you belong to._

Then why was she stuck with this project in the first place?

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><p>As they walked swiftly down the corridors, headed not for their usual retreat of Gryffindor Tower but down the slight slope to the dungeons, James pulled the Map out of his robes and examined for a moment. Roxanne looked over his shoulder and pointed to the now moving dot. She'd always loved the Map, and James was happy to share it with her, but he would never give her his most prized possession permanently.<p>

"If we hurry, we'll catch her before she leaves," Roxanne said, not sounding entirely happy about it.

James nodded as he watched her dot head up into the warmer part of the school, "Good, because I'm not about to chase her around the castle."

It was enough that he'd gone to find Roxanne, after all, and she was the one that had run away. He wasn't sure what had made him leave the tower in the first place, but he sure didn't want to play a game of hide and seek all around the castle, even if he did have the clear advantage.

After a minute or two of steady walking, they reached the entrance of the corridor that had the steepest path downward. They followed it a little ways, passing Hogwarts' most horrible set of twins on the way, until they could both see Esme not far ahead.

"Here's Roxanne, then," James said sulkily, his voice echoing around the corridor. Esme looked up at him, her face mildly surprised.

"You actually fetched your friend," she said, her voice not containing the usual malice or mocking. She was simply stating a fact... and perhaps there was even a hint of wonder?

"Well, yeah," he replied. His tone was not rude or angry this time, but there was still a trace of sarcasm in it, "I didn't really expect you to..."

He trailed off, leaving Roxanne to look at Esme. She wasn't nearly as bad as James had made her out to be, Roxanne thought. She had no personal grudge against the girl, even if she could be less-than-friendly towards Slytherins, so her tone when she spoke was neither rude nor particularly friendly. Neutral, more like.

"That's me," she said, giving a tiny little wave.

"Yes... well," Esme continued, looking slightly flustered and, admittedly, tired, "It's been quite a … draining day and I'd like to retire early. Would you mind showing me to the tower so I can sleep?"

Roxanne nodded curtly, deciding to reserve judgment on the girl until later. Their conversation had been polite, but not very friendly, and they walked off together in silence, leaving James to stare after them.


	2. A Problematic Announcement

**Disclaimer: **Again, I do not own any of J.K. Rowling's characters or parts of the wonderful world she created. Things I said in the first chapter apply, of course. Lila is as much responsible for this fic as I am!

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><p>The next morning James was greeted in the common room by the sight of a large cluster of people huddled around the notice board. He shot a questioning look at Anthony; when his best friend simply shrugged, James pushed through to investigate. His curiosity was piqued – rarely did a gang of older students by the notice board look so intrigued. Usually it was the younger ones who were excited by trivial Hogwarts news.<p>

The crowd proved to be thick and unyielding, but as he got closer, he could hear people commenting about whatever was on the poster.

"This is mad... I don't want to do this."

"I wouldn't imagine anyone does..."

"Oh no, a ball sounds _lovely._"

James was now in the middle of the group, and stood on his toes to try to get a better look at the poster. He wasn't cursed with bad eyesight like his father, but there was still too much distance – and too many heads – for him to make out any of the text. On the very fringes of the group stood Esme, who was looking indifferent.

"What's going on?" he asked, speaking loudly over the chatter.

"A ball!" a fifth year girl on his left exclaimed, beaming up at him.

He managed to smile back at her, which earned her a few nudges from her friends.

"What for?" he pressed on.

"The Unity Project, of course!"

James' smile slipped a few notches at this. The Unity Project... of _course. _He had almost forgotten about that in the few hours of peaceful sleep he'd gotten. If it was for this stupid unity thing, there had to be a catch. There always was.

"It's a way of getting everyone involved in the Unity Project," read another Gryffindor excitedly to no one in particular, "There will be dance lessons and everything!"

"But who would have known you'd have to go with someone from a different House?"

"And if you were directly involved in the project, you're _required_ to go?"

All around him, the group of students who had been jostling to read the poster seemed to come to life.

"Oooh, a date from another House!"

"That cute Ravenclaw boy – "

And suddenly, in a tone much different from the enthusiastic ones some of the others were using, came another voice from the edge of the group, ringing loud and clear even over the chatter.

"Oh, _Merlin!_"

James didn't even have to turn to know who it was. He hadn't been interacting with Esme Taylor for long, but she'd been complaining to him all yesterday evening, and only she could sound that unhappy with something so seemingly positive. Of course, he wasn't too happy about this himself. A date, well, that would be no problem. He didn't like Slytherins much on principle, but he wasn't about to limit himself to dating only Gryffindor girls. Yes, it would be quite simple to snag a date from Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. In fact, the ball itself wasn't so bad. It was just... _dance lessons. _

The sulky mood that had plagued him on the way back from the dungeons last night was quickly returning at the mention of dancing. Hogwarts didn't have dances or balls on a regular basis, and there was really no other instance when he would need to do such a thing. He had never taken any interest in it before, which led him to believe he would be... lacking skill. Not to mention he didn't have any desire to dance at all.

Suddenly he found himself unable to stand in this babbling crowd of his Housemates any longer. Even Anthony, who was much better with relationships than James was, looked rather like he was looking forward to the event. His girlfriend was a Ravenclaw, so there was no problem there. Besides, he was utterly unembarrassed when it came to things like dancing and dressing up. The same could not be said for James, whose idea of dressing up was running a comb through his hair a few times.

As he turned to leave, he noticed Esme retreating from the group and then clambering out of the portrait hole. Seeing her leaving like that – running away again – sent a surge of irritation through him. Maybe she just irritated him in general, and the fact that he was already in a bit of a bad mood made it worse. He didn't know. He didn't really care, for that matter. And since this was James, he couldn't simply let things be – that would be making it too easy. He reminded himself again that he wasn't her babysitter, that it wasn't his responsibility to make sure she didn't go and do anything stupid like try to break into the Slytherin common room. Still, he had too much pride to let her go and screw things up this early in the game; and if they lost some obscene amount of points because of one miserable Slytherin, he and Roxanne were no doubt going to get some of the blame. So, with a last glance back to make sure no one was paying attention to him, he slipped out the portrait hole after her.

"Where the hell are you going?" he called, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that told him how incredibly rude he sounded right now.

"I don't owe you any kind of explanation, Potter," she snapped back, lifting her chin defiantly, "but since you're so keen, no, I'm not going to get your House or mine docked points. I'm simply going for a walk. What, is that not allowed?"

"It's not really your House anymore," he replied without thinking. That was a big problem for him: Sometimes his brain and his mouth didn't seem to be connected, "How does it feel to be a Gryffindor?"

"Merlin, you're an idiot," she scolded, looking at him as if he'd grown an extra head or two and asked her to call him 'Fluffy'. Before he could respond, though, she turned on her heel and continued on her brisk walk, eyes peeled for an escape route. James, who really hated it when people tried to get the last word, increased his pace to keep up with her. Unable to stand it anymore, Esme whipped around abruptly and glared at him. He nearly ran into her, she had stopped so suddenly. As it was, they were quite close to each other. By the look in her eyes, she was about ready to start breathing fire at him.

"Look, you," she hissed, "Do I look like Gryffindor material to you? No. That was a rhetorical question, but no's the answer all the same. Despite this stupid little project, nothing changes the color of my robes or the attitude I carry. I just have a different, stuffier, and Merlin knows way too bright of a place to sleep every night."

James raised his hands in front of him in a typical gesture of surrender; though it was with a _bit _more amusement than someone might have if they really did have to surrender. He was still irritated, but the fact that he was pushing her buttons made it a bit better. Besides, her bad mood had spontaneously reminded him of a conversation he'd had with Teddy over the Christmas holidays when he was younger.

"_Well, James, girls are a bit like werewolves. Once every month –"_

At which point James had promptly covered his ears and run out of the room.

This amusing memory was interrupted by the addition of another voice in the corridor, responding to Esme's little rant.

"Spoken like a true Taylor!"

James finally stopped looking down at Esme and scanned the corridor for the source of the voice, which turned out to be a blonde girl with fair skin and light eyes. As far as looks went, she was the exact opposite of Esme, but as they were in the same year, he recognized her, too. This was Rorie, Esme's 'sister'. Well, when you had no family of your own, he supposed you had to find solace in someone.

She seemed to be her sister's opposite in demeanor, too. While Esme wore a perpetual scowl whenever he saw her, Aurora Taylor had a bright smile plastered on her face. As he watched, she reached her arms out and embraced her sister like James wasn't even there. Of course, she would not be so warm towards him.

The arrival of another party seemed to snap him out of his bad mood a bit. When it had just been Esme and himself hurrying through the corridors and bickering, it was easy to forget himself, to get caught up in his negative feelings towards this whole unity nonsense. Now that there was someone else there, it was sort of like he'd been having an out-of-body experience and had just been snapped back in. Aurora was so much more _maternal _than Esme. Lily gushed about the Taylor sisters quite a lot, actually, but Rorie seemed to be the one who handled the more sensitive problems. He had paid attention to this, especially in Lily's first years at Hogwarts, because he wanted to make sure no one was poisoning his little sister's mind.

"Oh gods, Rorie, have the Hufflepuffs gone to your head?" Esme inquired, poorly masking her own excitement at seeing her sister.

"Clearly, you haven't been learning, Esme," Rorie replied, pulling a face.

Esme snorted, "Clearly, there isn't anything to learn."

James listened to this exchange, feeling embarrassed and out of place. Oddly enough, though, he was also intrigued by the dynamic between the two sisters.

Assuming that they weren't going to acknowledge his presence anymore, he leaned casually up against the wall, thinking it best to just fade into the background before slipping away. He didn't want to get involved any further... the family dynamic had thrown him off, and besides, Rorie seemed like more of a _girl _than her sister. And he generally didn't get into a habit of getting into fights with girls. Esme, naturally, was becoming exception to this rule.

However, at that moment Rorie seemed to take notice of him. Well, she did not look at him or really acknowledge him in any way, but as he moved into the shadows she said, "Oh, you've made a friend have you?"

"Friend is a loose translation... he's one of my _House buddies,_" she shuddered at the term, but followed her sister's example in acting as if he wasn't there.

He could not tell if Rorie was being sarcastic or not, but regardless, he wasn't going to stand there while they talked about him like he couldn't hear every word they were saying. He decided to test the waters a bit.

"I like her better," he said, moving away from the wall and jerking his head toward the blonde, "She knows how to smile..."

Rorie laughed outright, "My, Esmeralda, you seem to have gotten yourself into quite the situation."

"Aurora! What I have I told you about using my full name?" Esme demanded. Her temper seemed to have piqued, and she rounded on James, "And why, Potter, would I waste my energy smiling in the presence of _you?_"

Aurora's giggle reverberated through the empty corridor, "You know they say you bully the ones you love..." she said airily.

"_Rorie!_"

"What? I'm just saying. I mean, I bully you all the time – because I adore you, my little Esmeralda."

"You're awful."

Aurora's grin grew more prominent, "Well, I am a Slytherin."

James watched this conversation with curiosity, for once barely caring that no one was paying attention to him. It was interesting how, even though they weren't technically related, their bonds ran just as deep as his and Lily's. Or, to a lesser extent, his and Al's, though his brother had been rather irritating lately, even if he didn't mean to be. No, perfect little Albus could _never _be _irritating_...

Well, he wasn't here to brood over his family issues, though he wasn't sure what he was here for, now that it was two against one. Maybe he could have a civil conversation with two Slytherin girls?

Naw.

And speaking of family issues, here came Lily now, looking strangely mismatched in her sinister black robes, complete with that stupid serpent. Oh, how he hated to see those colors on his baby sister. Only she wasn't really a baby anymore, she was thirteen, and she was looking up at her elders with some kind of confused admiration, clearly trying to decide which side to take. Either way, he was glad for her appearance. It saved him from digging himself into a deeper hole. It also evened out the "family" ratio. Now they each had a sister. Somehow, it made him feel safer.

"Roxanne said you followed Esme out," Lily said reprovingly, giving him a remarkably mature look. What was it with all these Slytherin girls and maternal instincts?

"And?" he asked, for this did not explain why she was here. Just to embarrass her (and, perhaps, to show Rorie and Esme that he was her big brother and they needed to leave the littlest Potter alone in his presence), he ruffled her hair. Lily was capable of making any situation seem brighter than it actually was. She just had that sort of charm.

"Thought I would come save you from embarrassing yourself," she said briskly, smoothing down her hair. As she did so, she gave him an annoyed look, "But if you keep doing that, maybe I'll just let Esme and Rorie beat you up!"

"Ah, Lily Pad, they have an unfair advantage. You see, one of them is a girl, and everyone knows you don't hit girls..."

"You _are _an idiot," Lily said affectionately, punching him on the arm with her tiny fist, "It's no wonder Esme doesn't want to smile for you!"

"Traitor," James muttered darkly. Then he ruffled her hair again.

"Right you are, Lily," Esme replied, clapping a hand on the younger Slytherin's shoulder. James' brief good mood vanished as quickly as it had come.

"She _is _rather brilliant for her age, isn't she?" Aurora added lovingly.

"Couldn't even tell she was related to _that,_" Esme agreed, nodding in James' direction, "Genes work in mysterious ways, apparently."

James resisted the urge to hit his head on the wall, which was conveniently nearby in the narrow corridor. He should have known that a conversation with three Slytherins could never end well, even if one of them was his little sister.

"Weren't you going somewhere?" he asked Esme in a forced polite tone. Lily simply rolled her eyes at them, as if she couldn't be bothered by such trivial nonsense. She clearly thought everyone should just hold hands and be friends, even if one of them was insane.

"Oh, as a matter of fact, I found what I was looking for," Esme replied coolly, putting an arm around her sister. Aurora looked surprised at the gesture, but Lily gave her a knowing look. Both of their siblings were acting strange in the other's presence. Lily and Rorie would more than likely be swapping stories about this later... though Lily's account would doubtless be more enthusiastic. It was easy for her to get ahead of herself, especially when potentially dramatic things were brewing.

"But if you were looking for some family time yourself, by all means, go ahead," she spared an affectionate glance at Lily, but it could not have been plainer that she wanted James out of her hair, "Maybe if you're lucky some of your sister will rub off on you. And you weren't exactly contributing anything to conversation, were you?"

"You could do with a little more humor yourself, Esme," he replied, using her first name only because there were now two people with the last name Taylor in the vicinity, "Maybe some of your sister will rub off on _you. _At least she doesn't storm around yelling and attacking people."

Esme snorted indignantly; it had, after all, been James who had started this whole argument. Before she could say anything, though, Lily jumped in.

"We'd better be off, then!" she said, looking nervously from James to the Taylor sisters, "Roxanne will be wanting word about her – er – project grade. And cousins. Bye!"

And with that, she grabbed the sleeve of James' robes and dragged him off. If he'd wanted to stay, she wouldn't have been able to stop him, but he followed her without a fuss – and without looking back at Esme and Rorie.

"You handled that well," she said dryly as they reached the more open upstairs corridor. There were a few more people milling around here, but as it was such a nice day, most of the students were outside by now, "I don't know what the problem is... neither of you is a bad person!"

"She's crazy, Lily!" James said defensively – and somewhat childishly.

"Who was the one who chased her out of the common room again?" Lily asked pointedly. James fell silent, crossing his arms.

"You've just got to give her a chance," she insisted, "Please, James? Would you _please _just _try _to get along... or at least not fight?"

She was looking up at him now with her big chocolate brown eyes, a pleading expression on her face. He stomped at the ground and looked away uncomfortably. Lily seemed to take this as an agreement, and threw her arms around him gratefully.

"Thank you, James!" she exclaimed, letting go as quickly as she had embraced him, "I'm going to go talk to Esme about it – see you later!"

And with that she ran off down the hall, leaving James to stare after her, trying to decide whether he could be amused or annoyed – or possibly a little bit of both.


End file.
